Doctoral student Onur Ramazan awarded medical examiners internship

A doctoral candidate with the Washington State University College of Education has secured a prestigious national internship with the Philadelphia-based National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME).

Onur Ramazan, a student in the college’s Educational Psychology program, as well as a research assistant in the Learning and Performance Research Center, will spend eight weeks with NBME, beginning in June. 

Since the NBME was founded in 1915, its mission has been to further advance the assessment of medical education, now through high-quality assessments and learning tools. It is largely known for medical licensing examinations in the United States.

Ramazan’s work will largely be focused on this examination data the organization runs for medical doctor licenses and certificates. That will include running psychometric analyses, data management, and data preparation. 

These tasks bode well for Ramazan, whose research focuses on addressing issues in diverse, historically marginalized, and underrepresented students’ learning and self-concepts.

“What I have learned during my time in the College’s Educational Psychology program, since I arrived at WSU in 2017 to begin my master’s degree, will help me complete the tasks that the NBME will assign me,” Ramazan said. “The program has given me the strength and confidence to have success.”

Ramazan’s research uses large-scale assessments and survey data with a special interest in psychometrics. This includes measurement invariance, differential item functioning, machine learning, and multilevel modeling. 

Ramazan’s advisor, Robert Danielson, said he was proud to see Ramazan’s work recognized by the field.

“He has been expanding his expertise of both psychometrics and large-scale assessment, as well as working across theoretical landscapes to justify his approaches,” Danielson said. “These awards and internships are a testament to his relentless hard work and dedication.”

Assistant professor Shenghai Dai, who oversees Ramazan’s current work with the LPRC, said he isn’t surprised Ramazan has received this internship — and other offers — this academic year.

“Onur has been diligently equipping himself with knowledge and skills in psychometrics and statistics, as well as their applications in the context of learning and large-scale assessments,” he said. “He is always highly motivated and drives to succeed.”